Passive and Active Deformation Processes of 3D Fibre-Reinforced Caricatures of Cardiovascular Tissues

A. Di Carlo[1], P. Nardinocchi[2], T. Svaton[3], and L. Teresi[1]

[1]Modelling and Simulation Lab, Università Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
[2]Dept. of Structural & Geotechnical Engineering, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Roma, Italy
[3]Dept. of Mathematics, University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic
Published in 2009

In this paper, we present a mathematical model of contractile elastic solids meant to simulate various districts of the cardiovascular system, and based on the concepts of active deformation and embedded muscle fibres. Specifically, here we deal with the modeling of the gross mechanics of the Left Ventricle (LV) which is strictly related to its pump function. As is well known, the effectiveness of the pumping action is well represented by the Pressure-Volume (PV) diagrams that relate the blood pressure to the volume of the LV during the cardiac cycle. Here, we aim at reproducing realistic PV by specifying appropriate sequence of muscle contraction.

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